:: Commercial Real Estate Education and Investing::

14th of September, 2016 marks the beginning of the new interest rate capping regime in Kenya. You can save up to 42% interest on loan, and earn additional 350% on deposit. This follows the signing into law on the 24th of August, 2016 the Banking (Amendment) Bill 2015 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.Read more »

Sometimes you really struggle hard to sell your property or rent it. You try this on your own. Then you turn to an estate agent, then to the next. You spend on adverts and faithfully service your mortgage. You feel very frustrated.

Could it be that you overlooked something when you were investing in the property? Most probably yes. What you overlooked could be one or more of the following building blocks of value. They are the things that make someone want to buy or rent your property.

A lot has been said and done about grabbed public land. We know about the land allocations in Lamu and the investigations by National Land Commission (NLC). We know about the Ndung’u Report. They have said the president has no powers to revoke title. But what have they not yet told you? Here are six things you have not been told.

1 – That all titles are up for review

Many believe property shows – popularly known as property expos are for agents and developers to sell their products. For me, I say property shows are for you. You stand to benefit more than the agent. Here are six reasons you should make it a habit to attend property shows.

Banks and Financial Institutions rely on valuations to gauge the amount of money to lend against a security. Primarily, the banker needs to know how much the bank can realize from the security should the customer default. Valuation methods are known. These are market approach, income approach and cost approach. However, value judgement is an art.Read more »

Kenya is divided into 47 Counties. Kenya Counties are created by The Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Article 6 (1) of the Constitution states that: “The territory of Kenya is divided into counties specified in the First Schedule”. The complete list of the Kenya Counties are provided below.

Cost Approach is one of the three methods of estimating the market value of real estate. The other two methods are: Sales Comparison Approach and Investment Approach. Cost Approach is also referred to as the Contractor’s Method. In Cost Approach, you arrive at the value of real estate by summing up the market value of land and the cost of the building. You may need to add to this profit. There are four steps in Cost Approach.

Investment Approach is one of the three methods used in estimating the market value of real estate. The other two methods are: Sales Comparison Approach and Cost Approach. In this article, I discuss the investment approach. Investment Approach is also referred to as the Income Capitalization Approach. You arrive at the value of real estate by multiplying the rent by a factor. The logic here is that the value of real estate is determined by how much rent you can get from it.Read more »

Sales Comparison Approach is one of the three methods of real estate valuation. The other two methods are: Investment Approach and Cost Approach. In this article, I will discuss the first method, sales comparison approach. In my subsequent articles I will discuss the other two methods.

Sales Comparison Approach is the easiest to understand method of estimating the market value of real estate. In this method, you arrive at the value of one real estate by comparing it with prices of other real estates that have been sold. The logic is, if that property was sold for that much, then this property should sell for this much. This amount is then the market value of the property.Read more »

Market Value is defined as: “The estimated amount for which an asset or liability should exchange on the valuation date between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion”.